1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to accessories for use with eyeglasses. More specifically, the invention is directed to structures for supporting eyeglasses about the user's head or neck.
2. State of the Art
Eyeglass retainers of various constructions have been known for some time. Such retainers are usually one of two types. In a first construction, the retainer is directed to essentially storing eyeglasses which are not required for continual use by the wearer. In these constructions, the retainer includes an elongate cord having a means of interconnecting the cord to the frame members of a pair of eyeglasses. In many constructions, this means of interconnecting the cord to the eyeglass frames is secured to each of the opposing ends of the cord. The cord is typically an inelastic structure. The cord is dimensioned to essentially form a necklace about the user's neck with the eyeglasses being positioned on the user's chest as the retainer hangs about the user's neck. Owing to the size of the user's head and given the fact that the retainer assembly must pass over the user's head in order to reach its operative location, the cord of such retainers has typically been dimensioned to be relatively long. Representative examples of such retainers are those described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,961 (Well) issued 29 Mar. 1955; U.S. Pat. No. 2,539,922 (Nyberg) issued 30 Jan. 1951; U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,776 (Seron) issued 1 Apr. 1975; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,804 (Lawrence) issued 29 Apr. 1975. It follows that in many instances the eyeglasses will rest at a location down the user's chest which may not be particularly comfortable or visually attractive. With this disadvantage in mind, many constructions of retainers have adopted the use of a slider positioned on the retainer cord. In those retainer structures which utilize a slider, the cord is oftentimes passed through one channel of the slider and thereafter doubled back on itself and passed through a parallely positioned channel. As the slider is then moved along the length of the cord, the effective length of the cord which forms the operative necklace portion of the retainer is dimensionally reduced. This in turn results in the eyeglasses being positioned higher on the user's chest in a more desirable location. An example of this particular eyeglass retainer structure is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,660,092 (Bloom) issued 24 Nov. 1954.
The other general type of retainer is used to hold the eyeglasses operationally in place on a user's head. For example, many athletes will utilize such retainers during the course of athletic activities to firmly hold their eyewear in place against dislodgement which would otherwise occur during periods of physical exertion. In these constructions, the inelastic cord as previously described is replaced by an elastic band. The use of the elastic band permits the user to position the retainer about his head and thereby apply a retaining force to the eyeglass frame for purposes of retaining the eyeglasses in an operational positioning. Such constructions are made subject of U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,467 (Phillips) issued 17 Jun. 1969, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,396 (Greenberg) issued 24 Mar. 1970.